A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
Acting
McConaughey's closing argument—career-making three minutes.
Direction
Schumacher dials back the camp; this is his grown-up mode.
Director
Joel Schumacher
Matthew McConaughey
Jake Brigance
Sandra Bullock
Ellen Roark
Samuel L. Jackson
Carl Lee Hailey
Kevin Spacey
Rufus Buckley
Ashley Judd
Carla Brigance
Donald Sutherland
Lucien Wilbanks
Oliver Platt
Harry Rex Vonner
Charles S. Dutton
Ozzie Walls
Brenda Fricker
Ethel Twitty
Kiefer Sutherland
Freddie Lee Cobb
Patrick McGoohan
Judge Omar Noose
Tonea Stewart
Gwen Hailey
John Diehl
Tim Nunley
Chris Cooper
Dwayne Looney
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Grisham sold the film rights for a dollar to an unknown producer—who then died, stalling production for years until Schumacher rescued it.
The 1996 release coincided with the O.J. Simpson verdict's aftermath, making its 'black defendant, white jury' dynamics uncomfortably timely.
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